


Magic and Memories

by GeckoGirl89



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Bittersweet, Faked Death, First Tattoo, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Memorial Tattoo, Mentioned Steve McGarrett/Catherine Rollins, Minor Character Death, Pre-Series, Season/Series 03, Tattoos, Underage Drinking, fake ids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 09:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9315269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeckoGirl89/pseuds/GeckoGirl89
Summary: The first tattoo that Steve got wasn't really his personal style, and it wasn't one he showed off often. It was very different from the intricate designs he later put on his upper arms. It wasn't that Steve disliked the tattoo. The artist did a very good job, but it was just too personal to show off to a lot of people.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "Hawaii Five-0, Steve McGarrett gen, getting his first tattoo" on comment-fic: http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/684919.html?thread=90067831#t90067831
> 
> I thought Steve might get his first tattoo when he was fairly young, so I thought his first tattoo might be one to commemorate his mother's death. Based on what we know about Doris in canon, I chose this image as the inspiration for Steve's tattoo: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/e1/be/0b/e1be0ba634dd7b3d32be619784460051.jpg
> 
> The Army and Navy Academy was mentioned as the place where Steve was sent after his mother's death in 2.14. It's a real preparatory academy located in Carlsbad, CA, which explains why Steve and his friends there are in San Diego (not too far away) during the fic.

The first tattoo that Steve got wasn't really his personal style, and it wasn't one he showed off often. It was very different from the intricate designs he later put on his upper arms. It wasn't that Steve disliked the tattoo. The artist did a very good job, but it was just too personal to show off to a lot of people.

Steve went out with his buddies at the Army and Navy Academy the day he turned seventeen, which was a Saturday. Jack had an older brother, Bobby, who lived in San Diego and let them all crash with him when Steve's birthday weekend arrived. He also got Jack and his friends fake IDs so that they could celebrate Steve's birthday in style.

After everybody got pretty hammered, Joe, who was always the wildest one in their group, suggested that Steve should get a tattoo for his birthday. Everyone agreed, and soon Steve and his friends were roaming the streets of downtown San Diego looking for an open tattoo parlor.

They quickly found a hole in the wall place and wandered into the shop. The old, heavily tattooed guy at the front asked who the tattoo was for, and Steve's friends pushed him forward. Steve didn't even look at the designs available on the wall. He had been thinking about his tattoo since the group left the bar, and he knew what he wanted to get.

"I want to get a rabbit coming out of a hat," Steve said.

Riley, Jack's cousin who could sometimes be kind of rude (Steve wasn't that fond of him), scoffed. "Isn't that a little girly, Steve? You sure you don't want to get a pink unicorn?"

Steve scowled as the others laughed. "It's for my mom," he said sharply.

The laughter died down, and Riley actually sounded apologetic when he said, "Sorry, man." Steve didn't like to talk about his home life much, but when people asked about his mother, he mentioned that she had died. Everyone knew that his mother's death was a sore subject with him, but they didn't know any of the details.

The artist asked for some ID, and Steve showed him the fake one Bobby had given him yesterday. He raised a single eyebrow skeptically since the card said Steve was 21.

Steve shrugged. "I look young for my age."

The artist either believed him or was willing to overlook it, because he handed the fake driver's license back to Steve and asked about the size and where he wanted to place the tattoo. Steve told him that he wanted to put the tattoo on his lower back and that he would prefer something small since this would be his first tattoo. The artist nodded and said that he would be back with a sketch in a few minutes.

As promised, the tattoo artist returned quickly and showed the sketch to Steve. It was an uncomplicated black and white design, with the rabbit peeking its head out of a top hat. Steve liked it, so he agreed to get it and paid the artist the price he gave for the piece.

The tattoo artist led Steve to an area on the left side of the store where a chair was located. Steve lifted his shirt to expose his lower back and the artist pressed the outline of the design onto the skin before he began to use the needle on him.

Steve had been nervous about getting the tattoo, and it did hurt some, especially when the artist filled in the black areas and did some shading to make the tattoo look three-dimensional, but it wasn't as bad as Steve feared. When the artist worked, he chatted with Steve and asked him a little bit about why he had gotten the tattoo. Steve was willing to open up about his mom more than he normally would. The guy tattooing him was friendly and had the kind of face that made you want to tell him things. And thinking about how his mom would delight him and Mary with skillful magic tricks put Steve in a happy mood. It wasn't like the invasive questions he usually got about her death.

The tattoo was finished fairly quickly, since it was small and relatively simple. The tattoo artist directed Steve over to a mirror so that he could get a good look at the design. Steve smiled. His tattoo was so cool! He thanked the man sincerely, shaking his hand like his dad had taught him to, and left with his friends to continue his evenings.

  
The tattoo healed nicely, and it lasted for years. Steve was fortunate to get a good tattoo by just wandering into a random shop (and after he was drunk, at that). The tattoo had been relatively inexpensive, but the artist was clearly dedicated to his craft.

Occasionally, as the years passed, Steve would turn around to look at his tattoo in the mirror when he was getting dressed in the mornings. He would think of his mother and smile. Most of the time, the only people who would see Steve's tattoo were women that he slept with. He would be vague with the women who were just one-night stands, but he told Catherine the full story. She wasn't his girlfriend, but she was his friend, and he felt he could actually tell her a little bit about his mom.

Years later, Steve finds out that Doris is in the CIA and that she faked her death. His fond memories of her are now mixed with the sense of betrayal he feels at her abandonment and resentment at how investigating her false death led to the very real death of his father. With how she managed to fool her entire family, her tendencies toward sleights of hand take on a ominous connotation.

Steve doesn't look at his tattoo in the mirror anymore. He's not sure if he wants it branded on his skin anymore, but he also doesn't know if he wants to get it removed with a laser procedure. Like so many things involving his mother, Steve is confused and hurt.

 


End file.
